"The way I see it, Fuss," Jon said, "Is we just hire a Beggar, they can use our traps and bring us fifty tails, that's two coppers worth, and we'll just split the money and everybody is happy."

"Good point," Jon rubbed his face, "That'd be bad if they took all our traps and didn't come back. Maybe if we just give them one trap at a time? They come back and we'll give them more."

"True. More people would be better and faster, but can we get them? You saw what a difficult job this was, they need to be almost fearless."

"Right. They need thumbs, too, and to be sober enough to function, and probably both legs...They shouldn't be blind, either - it's not like we're asking a lot, I don't think, but look around."

Jon was having trouble spotting just one Beggar that met all his qualifications, and when he did?

"Wait, wait! I just want to talk, I want to help you!" Jon shouted as he chased a fleeing beggar down the street.

"Maybe just one leg, Fuss? That way we have a chance of catching them long enough to talk?"

Thus Jon approached what appeared to be a group of veterans deformed through past injuries. One man had a crushed femur that twisted his leg out at an agonizing angle, another with just a thumb on one hand, a face split in half with a puckering, unsightly scar across it making his eyes appear bulging and angry.

"Excuse me." Jon said carefully, approaching as carefully as possible, "I'm looking for some help, and am willing to pay you - if you aren't afraid of rats and a bit of blood, and if you're looking for some work?"

Jon paused, already excited that the five Beggars in front of him hadn't shuffled off, instead they turned to him in curiosity. He squatted down to give them his pitch:

"It's not hard, we built some traps, but with how busy Fuss and I are gaining useful Skills, if you'd be willing to just cut the tails off and bring them -"

"Jon...Jon." Elijah's voice sounded strange. Jon started to stand, only to feel Elijah's grip wrap his forearm and begin to drag him away. "What are you doing with the Beggars? I thought you were working, what happened?"

"I am, Eli." Jon nodded, "It's just nobody would hire me, so -"

And Jon realized the sound in Eli's voice had been like a rattlesnake's warning, his next words were sharp and filled with venom -

"Jon, it's just after lunch, hardly half a day, and you're begging?"

"Eli -" Jon tried.

"We just went over this, I mean - are you trying to become a Beggar Prince? Because I can't think of a faster way to devolve your Class. There's no worse Class then Beggar, Jon, not only are you entirely reliant on other's generosity to advance, but -"

"Eli."

"But the Skills and Abilities you get are for just staying alive, and barely, I mean - imagine a Skill that would make you look even more pathetic just to con some grandma out of bit, or an Ability that -"

"I didn't beg, Eli." Jon said, only to see his own nose grow - the stupid thing! Jon saw Eli look at it, and for the first time in Jon's life, he saw Eli's eyes wet - But Jon hadn't been begging in the Real(m)! And that had been years and years ago, anyway, it shouldn't count. "I mean, Eli - I was going to give them money to help me."

"Help, Jon?" Eli used one hand to wipe his eyes, the other to gesture at the circle of Beggars Jon had approached, "Money? Look at them, Jon, do you see those bowls? They're not asking for coin, their only ambition is something to eat."

"Are you serious, Eli?" Jon whispered, his eyes suddenly bright, "You think they'd work for just food?"

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Of course. That's all they could hope to earn until they got a useful Class. But who's going to hire them? Go through the expense of training them? If they're not disabled or depressed, they're dirty and disgusting with absolutely no self-respect, they'd suck a dick for a sandwich."

"That's terrible." Jon said.

"Is it?" Eli asked, "I think whoring is better then begging, at least whores can feed themselves and keep a roof over their heads while they learn Skills and Abilities good for more than just selling their bodies. Where do you think all the women are?"

Jon looked around, and Eli was right. There wasn't a woman among the sad scavengers. "They're out shopping?" Jon asked hopefully.

"No, it's the opposite, Jon. They're selling. And even if it's unpleasant, and most of them probably would rather do something else if they could, anything else, they don't beg. Because they know what a hopeless, disgusting, terrible life it leads to. The beggars have it far worse than the whores do."

But what was really going through Jon's mind just then? Because what were the odds - of Eli suddenly showing up the second he'd hit a wall? Everything had gone perfectly until Jon had realized he would have to cut off those nasty rat tails, so Jon was about to hire Beggars. About to make the mistake of paying them.

Imagine how much cheaper it would be to just give the Beggars a bit of food for their help? And using whores for selling the traps? What a great idea. Jon was just going to use the traps to collect tails, he hadn't even considered selling them yet. Which caused Jon to realize what was really going on, Eli was giving him advice - but with something this important he wanted to make sure he understood:

"So, Eli." Jon asked in a knowing voice, "What you're saying is the Beggars, the Prostitutes? They're a problem?" Then Jon winked.

"Yes. Yes, Jon. They're a huge problem." Elijah said, exasperated, "One of the biggest to ever plague society, isn't that obvious?"

"Of course." Jon said, "But isn't it too big? I mean, is there even a way to fix it?"

"Absolutely. And it's actually simple, it's all about Skills. If people have useful skills, they have a way to support themselves, and if they continue to use those Skills they'll also get a useful Class, earning even more money. It's both compounding and recursive, as it creates both supply and demand, especially with bullion currency."

Elijah was panting, his eyes wild. And Jon was just shocked, because the implications of what Elijah seemed to be saying, and how obviously passionate he was bout it?

"Whoa." Jon said, "Whoa, Eli, was Fuss right? Did you really plan all this from the beginning?"

Eli looked surprised, caught, his face shifting between surprise and embarrassment before finally settling on disappointment and determination.

"Yes, Jon."

"I planned this. But I did it for you could learn. So you'd see what it was like on the bottom and could get the real life experiences you'd need to be successful here. I just - the lesson of homelessness?" Eli shook his head, his eyes sorrowful, "I don't think you need to learn that, do you?"

"No, Eli." Jon agreed, and he'd always been afraid that it would change something if Eli knew, that both of them avoided talking about their past. But of course Eli was smart, he'd likely known for a while and never brought it up out of consideration to Jon, "I don't."

"You must know," Elijah's voice became softer, sincere, "There is nothing I wouldn't give you, nothing I wouldn't leave behind for you, our friendship. You've earned that from me and so much more, just say the word - you don't have to work, you don't have to worry. It may take longer - it may take me forever, but I'll do it. I'll make Fuss a King, and you a Prince, and I'll do it happily."

And what did that mean? To a person who'd once been sold, to hear a voice that promised to hold nothing more valuable than him? A voice that couldn't lie.

"But that's not what you wanted, Jon. You wanted to earn it, and I will help you. Because you are my friend, but also because I believe you, that you are capable of so much more than this."

"Alright, Eli." Jon said numbly, and at this moment? If Eli told him to jump off a cliff, he knew he'd be halfway to the ground before he even thought to ask why.

"You've got this. Everything you need is right there." Elijah said pointing at Jon's head, "I'll see you at dinner."

Jon watched Eli leave, the only thing fuller then his heart was his mind, which was practically exploding.

"This is crazy, Fuss. I thought we were going to surprise him by coming up with the traps but of course he'd know that was the only way to kill so many rats, but this?"

Jon's eyes widened at Fuss being able to 'speak' so clearly, at how much these last few minutes had caused their Soul Bond to grow. But it wasn't surprising, Jon knew Eli's words meant as much to Fuss as they had to him because they'd been through everything together.

"How big is his plan, how far ahead is he thinking if he knew I'd approach the beggars for help, and then to 'advise' me of a better way? I mean, think of how many more we can hire, no help. If Eli's right, and he always is, we're going to make a real difference in these peoples lives if we can teach them valuable Skills so they can earn real money and get a good Class."

Jon wiped at his eyes, "He doesn't care we were homeless, Fuss."

"He said nothing is more important, and he meant it."

"But the whores, Fuss? Tell me you think that's crazy, because normal people do not think to use whores to sell rat traps, I mean."

"I know it's smart, Fuss, that's the point, I mean - but how smart do you have to be to come up with that? To plan it all ahead, and then to say it like he did, like he was mad? Just to make it a hint so we'd figure it out, so he wouldn't tell us, so he could get that Class?"

"Crazy smart, Fuss. Stupid crazy smart. Now let's go get the stuff to start a soup kitchen, we've got some Beggars to feed."